The Spanish government has announced that it has authorised contacts with the Basque separatist group, ETA.

Officials say they will talk to the Basque National Liberation Front an umbrella grouping comprising ETA and other militant separatists to see if the conditions exist to start a peace process in the Basque region modelled on the peace negotiations in Northern Ireland.

Officials say they want to verify if the unconditional ceasefire announced by ETA in September marks a permanent end to the group's thirty-year violent campaign for Basque independence.

The announcement follows elections for the autonomous Basque parliament in October, which passed off peacefully and attracted a record high turn-out.

The elections were won by the moderate Basque National Party but politicians close to ETA increased their support.